Quinzenas

Quinzenas is the plural form of quinzena, a term used in Portuguese-speaking regions to denote a time interval that is roughly two weeks. In many contexts a quinzenal period corresponds to about fifteen days, i.e., half a month, but the exact length can vary depending on calendars or institutional conventions. The plural quinzenas refers to multiple such 15-day or two-week intervals.

The word originates from Latin and Romance-language traditions that divide the month into halves. In usage, quinzenas are commonly encountered in payroll, scheduling, and reporting cycles, where a payment, deadline, or review occurs every two weeks. In some countries or organizations the term is more closely aligned with a strict biweekly period (every two weeks), while in others it maintains the sense of a half-month when counting calendar days.

Regional usage differs somewhat. In Brazil, quinzenas frequently appear in the context of salary payments issued on a biweekly schedule. In Portugal, quinzena is often used to designate either a 15-day span or a two-week interval, depending on the practical convention of the institution or activity. The adjective form quinzenal describes anything occurring every two weeks or relating to a two-week period.

See also: Fortnight; Half-month.